Arab Republic of Egypt
Government: Republic
Geography:Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Israel. Egypt is divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions by the landscape's dominant feature, the northward-flowing Nile River. The Nile starts 100 mi (161 km) south of the Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 mi between the cities of Alexandria and Port Said.
Area: 386,660 sq mi (1,001,450 sq km)
Population (2003 est.): 74,718,797 (growth rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 24.4/1000; infant mortality rate: 35.3/1000; density per sq mi: 193
Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Cairo, 15,892,400 (metro.area), 7,937,700 (city proper)
Other large cities: Alexandria, 3,891,000; Giza, 2,597,600 (part of Cairo metro. area); Shubra el Khema, 1,018,000 (part of Cairo metro. area); El Mahalla el Kubra, 462,300
Monetary unit: Egyptian pound
Language: Arabic
Ethnicity/race: Eastern Hamitic stock (Egyptians, Bedouins, and Berbers) 99%, Greek, Nubian, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1%
Religions: Islam 94%, Christian (mostly Coptic) 6%
Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats.
Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals.
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc.
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